2024 NHL DRAFT Talk

[LGR4GM]

11 hours ago, French Collection said:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard.

6’1” 198 Norwegian RW who payed in Sweden’s Allsvenskan, second division.

He projects as a middle six winger who plays hard and can contribute offensively. He sounds like a potential fan favourite in Buffalo, hard nosed two way player. .I watched him play twice in Prague and he fit in with men and was on the top line with Zuccarello.

11 might be too early. He or countryman Stolberg might be good picks if the Sabres were to move back in some kind of swap.

Let's talk about Brandsegg-Nygard

Micahel Brandsegg-Nygard is a 6'1" 198lbs RW/LW, #28:

A lot of you want a stout, hard to play against, physical, middle 6 guy with skill. Okay, here is Nygard, you're welcome. Easiest one of these I have written yet, moving on. 

 

Kidding. Nygard is a physical player with a very hard and accurate shot. He can score from range but also has the physical ability to work in close and hold off defenders to clean up trash around the net. His skating is powerful and pretty good which helps him get to where he wants, aka he is hard to knock off the puck or out of position. He also seems to relish contact, he just physically seems to push guys around and he plays in a men's league, the Swedish AHL equivalent. That said, he isn't going out of his way to make hits or be physical, he just plays that way. If he can hit you, he will. If he can throw a reverse hit, he will. If he can cut your hands and drive on you, he will. He is a straightforward middle 6 guy with a booming shot and the ability to shutdown plays and start or lead the breakout. No complaints. 

So why isn't our friend from Norway higher? Well, he's not overly creative in any sense of the word. He has some ability to manipulate defenders but it isn't his go to. He takes mostly what he can get either through being physically better (his skating helps here too) or by finding soft spots where he can help teammates. His ability to get in a shooting position or crash the net his great, but this isn't a guy like Tuch or ROR where he has some of those nifty handles that can help him solve problems in the offensive zone. He's a very safe player, by next year (2025) he can probably slot into your bottom 6 and he will do just fine. In an ideal world with his shot, you could pair him with Benson and have a very well rounded line where Benson can be the manipulator and Nygard can maintain possession, shoot, or be a give and go option. He could even get you 25g and 25a down the line. I think in the playoffs, his level of grit and his size would be real assets on the PK and closing out games. The issue? Do you want to spend an 11oa pick on a 50pt middle 6 guy who may only end up as a 15g,20a 3rd line winger? Or do you want to spend it on say Eiserman who might be a 40g scorer and a potential first line player in 5 years? Keep in mind Nygard is going to be 19 in October, so he is old for his class. 

The decision is what do you want to value as an org? The high floor but most likely lower ceiling, or the high ceiling or lower floor because at 11, all the guys fit those categories whether we talk Nygard, Eiserman, Dickinson, Yakemchuk, Helenius, Connolly, Sennecke etc... all I can say is I agree with everyone, Nygard is going to be an NHL player but how high he can play is my question. If he had more playmaking and stickhandling, I would feel better but he reminds me a bit of JJP in terms of the N/S game but with more physicality and less dangling ability. Hard to gauge but for Buffalo, considering their pool, I might lean into Nygard as a guy who down the road could play with Benson - Östlund - Nygard. 

 

[LGR4GM]

 

[LGR4GM]

Mock draft:

1. Celebrini - Sharks

2. Demidov - Hawks

3. Levshunov - Ducks

4. Silayev - Jackets

5. Iginla - Habs

6. Buium - Utah

7. Lindstrom - Sens

8. Dickinson - Kraken

9. Yakemchuk - Flames

10. Sennecke - Devils

11. Catton - Sabres

12. Greentree - Flyers

13. Parekh - Wild

14. Eiserman - Sharks

15. Nygard - Wings

16. Jiricek - Blues

[dudacek]

16 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Mock draft:

1. Celebrini - Sharks

2. Demidov - Hawks

3. Levshunov - Ducks

4. Silayev - Jackets

5. Iginla - Habs

6. Buium - Utah

7. Lindstrom - Sens

8. Dickinson - Kraken

9. Yakemchuk - Flames

10. Sennecke - Devils

11. Catton - Sabres

12. Greentree - Flyers

13. Parekh - Wild

14. Eiserman - Sharks

15. Nygard - Wings

16. Jiricek - Blues

Is that yours?

Ranking or what you think teams might do?

I would take Catton with what was available at 11.

Haven’t given it a ton of thought, but he might be as high as 6 on my list.

[LGR4GM]

13 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Is that yours?

Ranking or what you think teams might do?

I would take Catton with what was available at 11.

Haven’t given it a ton of thought, but he might be as high as 6 on my list.

Mock draft I just made. Not rankings.

[LGR4GM]

Sidenote: there are rumblings on the interwebs that Montreal really likes Sennecke. Take it with a grain of salt cuz it's rumor season. 

[LGR4GM]

Again, I don't like Pronman. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5538240/2024/06/07/nhl-draft-2024-blackhawks-demidov-levshunov/

Quote

Almost every other top prospect will have some questions... For Demidov, it would be size and minor skating concerns.

Well I think Levshunov has a ton of upside. I think he’s the second most talented player in the draft. It’s clear NHL athleticism mixed with clear NHL skill. Demidov is the most purely skilled player in the draft but upside to me is more than just pure skill, as I also think Levshunov has a ton of natural offense in his game as well.

He (Demidov) is ridiculously skilled, but he has athletic limitations with his frame.

I am taking pieces and leaving out context FTR. However, Pronman constantly and repeatedly refers to Ivan Demidov's size as one of his biggest issues. He also at one point talks about Levshunov being Burns or Karlsson (which I do not see and the ppl I read do not see). His evaluation just feels flawed based on his very real size bias. That isn't to say that Levshunov cannot end up better than Demidov but that if your logic is that Demidov is 3inches shorter so he can't be good (which is basically Pronman's point) that just seems like over valuing 1 data point. For example, Pronman ranked Zach Benson 17th overall in his final rankings. In his upside rankings (basically if he were to project every player out to their very best versions) he put Benson 26th. 

This is all to say that if you really want to understand the draft you need to A. read multiple evaluations from scouts (4-7) and you need to know some of the tendencies of those scouts. For example Pronman who far overvalues size compared to things like IQ and Compete. However if you are under 6ft and are an excellent skater, he ignores other issues and is perfectly good with you. He basically believes all small players have to be elite level dynamic skaters. 

Just something to keep in mind since I know a lot of ppl read the Athletic. 

[LGR4GM]

Let's talk about Dominik Badinka, 6'3" 190lbs RHD out Czechia who played 33 games in the SHL this year. 

If Stiga is gone, I think I wouldn't mind Badinka at 43. First, the number of clips for a guy who has only 4 SHL points is low, not 0 but low. He reminds me a bit of Mattias Samuelsson in that he is big and physical while being calm without having much offense. Now when I say physical, I don't mean Pronger, he can use his body to get leverage and try and separate others from the puck but I don't read or see that as his go to. I wonder if playing in men's league at 18 has some to do with that. His skating I actually really like as his movement looks fluid and there is a fastness to it. That said, needs to be quicker and needs to add that extra short area burst. I think he is smart but have read other places that would disagree. In the all shifts below, there are time you really see him patiently and effectively get position and under pressure make good plays out or start the rush with his skating. You also see sometimes where his is just a half second behind and I think that isn't processing speed per say but more of the experience and maturity that young guys struggle with. EP has some reports from March when he went back to jrs for a few games and it is all basically he is really good defensively and getting pucks up ice but don't expect a bunch of fancy offensive zone plays. 

I have seen him tagged anywhere from #2 defender to the more numerous 2nd pairing guy and 1st PK type. At 43, if you get an NHL player in your top 9 or top 6, you've done well and I think Badinka is a solid guy who will probably play NHL games either as a 2nd pairing guy or a really strong 3rd pairing guy. I hope his physical game continues to develop as he gets stronger because there is certainly a willingness to engage that way that could help him carve out a role. Long reach and good skating can go a long way if you have a physical side too. Do we have to take him at 43, no, but he would be an interesting pick. 

He is #6 in white

[LGR4GM]

The player that this board and Sabres twitter would implode over...

Let's talk about Justin Poirier, the 5'8" winger who won't be 18 until Sept4th. Why should we talk about him? he scored 69g in 85 QMJHL games this season. That's insane to be quite honest. I am really interested to see if we can get an updated height and weight although it doesn't appear that he is a combine invite which is surprising. Anyways, he's almost a full year younger than some of the other guys being talked about in the first round (Nygard) so that is something to keep in mind. 

He loves to shoot. I think if Eiserman and Poirier were put on the ice together there would be like 100 shots a game. Now the good news is Poirier has a good shot and there are about 20 videos you can watch to see his goals. The bad news is I am not really sure he is creating enough chances himself and what I mean by that, he does put himself in prime scoring spots but a lot of the time he is asking his teammates to then give him the puck there. There's some decent handling and a good ability to make adjustments that will translate. Skating is solid and he seems to have a physical side to his game but idk how effective that will be. Really you are drafting him because you think he is Cuafield Jr. I am not personally convinced of that. A lot of his shots a facilitated by others, he doesn't seem to make a lot of high level manipulations or passes. He is really lesser Eiserman who I like far more. Still at 43, maybe you get lucky and Poirier ends up as a 2nd line scoring winger and top PP guy. At 43, that would be pretty good. Personally, I would look elsewhere and I think Poirier will slide into late 2nd or even the 3rd. 

 

[LGR4GM]

If you want more on the Russians in the draft:

 

[LGR4GM]

More Russians

 

[SabreFinn]

18 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Mock draft:

1. Celebrini - Sharks

2. Demidov - Hawks

3. Levshunov - Ducks

4. Silayev - Jackets

5. Iginla - Habs

6. Buium - Utah

7. Lindstrom - Sens

8. Dickinson - Kraken

9. Yakemchuk - Flames

10. Sennecke - Devils

11. Catton - Sabres

12. Greentree - Flyers

13. Parekh - Wild

14. Eiserman - Sharks

15. Nygard - Wings

16. Jiricek - Blues

The most realistic list I've seen for the draft imo.

[LGR4GM]

25 minutes ago, SabreFinn said:

The most realistic list I've seen for the draft imo.

I think you could flip 2 and 3 and there's rumors that Montreal will take Sennecke. Other than that, I actually feel pretty good. 

[SabreFinn]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I think you could flip 2 and 3 and there's rumors that Montreal will take Sennecke. Other than that, I actually feel pretty good. 

I even agree with you that Helenius might be drafted that late, but in that case it is the steal of the draft.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, SabreFinn said:

I even agree with you that Helenius might be drafted that late, but in that case it is the steal of the draft.

If he were taller, I think he'd go higher. Teams gets silly at the draft. I like Helenius.

[Thorner]

If he shocked personally if Catton wasn’t the pick, screams sabres from all I’ve read and heard advocated 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Finally collected 8 different rankings with at least 64 players ranked.  Here are the tiers so far.  (EDIT: Updated)

TOP 32

1 - Celebrini

2- Demidov, Levshunov, Buium, & Parekh

3 - Dickinson, Catton, Lindstrom, Silayev, Helenius & Iginla

4 - Eiserman, Yakemchuk, Sennecke & Brandsegg-Nygard

5 - Chernyshov, Connelly, Hage, Greentree, & Jiricek (large gap the next tier)

6 - Artamonov, Boisvert, Solberg, Luchanko, and Hemming  

7a - Parascak and Emery (last 2 with a 1st rd grade)

7b - Sahlin Wallenius, Elick, Ritchie, Beaudoin, and Basha

33-65

8 - Surin, Mews, Pettersson, & Gridin

9 - Kiviharju, Masse, Pulkkien, & Freij

10 - Hutson, Badnicka, Howe, Eriksson, Miettinen & Stiga

11 - Vanacker, Shuravin, Jecho, Mustard, and Brunicke

12 - Kleber, and O'Reilly

13 - Galvas, Muggli, and Danford 

14 - Bednarik, Skakan, and Plante (last 3 with a 2nd rd grade)

15 - Vaisanen, Marrelli & Poirier

16 - George, Zetterberg, & Letourneau

 

Edited June 9 by GASabresIUFAN

[LGR4GM]

 

 

[LGR4GM]

 

 

[LGR4GM]

 

 

[Flashsabre]

17 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

Outside of Celebrini none of these draft pundits and sites seem to be in any sort of agreement on any of these guys. 

[Taro T]

4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

Initial reaction to this is - don't like it.  But IF they continue to maintain the 50 contract limit on players in system, expect it wouldn't end up getting abused by the big money teams and a team with really good analytics and scouting departments could make hay with it.  (And the Sabres SHOULD be a team with good analytics and scouting departments - they have a billionaire owner and a general impression that established players don't want to be in Buffalo (a perception that will change as soon as the team actually becomes good again), so the team has a vested interest in finding and landing good prospects.)

So, maybe it would be a good thing.

[LGR4GM]

3 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Outside of Celebrini none of these draft pundits and sites seem to be in any sort of agreement on any of these guys. 

I think the top 4 will be:

1. Celebrini 

2. Levshunov 

3. Salayev

4. Lindstrom 

 

[Flashsabre]

23 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I think the top 4 will be:

1. Celebrini 

2. Levshunov 

3. Salayev

4. Lindstrom 

 

Your guess is a good as any.

I read the only team Levshunov had dinner with was Chicago so maybe he is the pick. I think Demidov is the 2nd most talented guy but will take the Michkov dive down to about 5th or 6th

[PerreaultForever]

1st round pick Liam Greentree. I'm set on this (unless Iginla falls which he won't).

2nd round pick Jacob Battaglia unless one of the bigger D men falls (Roberts, Emery etc.). 

3rd round pick I'd like to see us take Lukas Matecha. You could argue he can wait until the 4th round but I'd play it safe and grab him earlier. I think he will be a good one.

The rest whatever. Size, speed, character, BPA.